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MONDAY
2 TO MONDAY 9 JULY 2001
MONDAY 2 JULY 2001
Sweden
ending analogue by
2003?
Fox sells four stations
Guinness
records sold for TV rights
BBC
world privatisation ruled out
Motorola
in China contract
DirectTV
to boost subs
Global
win may hit shares
Microsoft's
partial victory
Sweden
ending analogue by
2003?
by
Inge Naning
Allan Larsson, the new Chairman of Sveriges Television, SVT, Sweden's
public service broadcaster, is advocating early analogue switch-off.
The former Finance Minister, EU official, television news reporter/ editor
etc has just recruited a new MD for his company, and is now lobbying hard
against the Ministry of Culture to get an early switch-off of the Swedish
analogue terrestrial network. His surprising aim is to achieve switch
off starting as early as 2003.
Larsson's plan is for a gradual switch-off of the Swedish analogue network,
region by region. The only major problem he now sees is that it might
be difficult to secure delivery of enough set top boxes. But he is ready
to promise SVT's financial participation in a project to speed up digital
set top box distribution. An obvious motivation for this is that SVT would
benefit financially by not having to pay for both analogue and digital
distribution.
Today around one-third of Sweden's nine million inhabitants appear content
to remain with the three national analogue terrestrial services, SVT's
two channels and private commercial TV4. Well over half a million households
have, so far, gone for the various digital alternatives, most of them
choosing DTH reception. Some 70,000 households have opted for the heavily
state-supported DTT alternative.
Also SVT's new MD, Christina Jutterstroem, appointed a couple of days
ago and entering her new job on August 15, supports the plans for a quicker
digitisation of Swedish terrestrial television, saying, "We will make
it possible for our audience to watch digital broadcasts; you wait and
see, thing are really happening," she commented after her appointment.
Sweden's Eastern neighbour, Finland, where DTT will be officially, and
massively, launched on August 21, is so far one of the few countries to
put down its foot with regard to switch off of the analogue terrestrial
network. Two years ago the government of Finland decided that when the
present analogue terrestrial licences expire at the end of 2006 there
would be no reason to issue new analogue licences.
Allan Larsson also comments on the date of 2006, saying, "A number of
countries have already decided on a stop date from that year. I see no
reason why Sweden should be left behind."
Fox sells four stations
News Corp's Fox Station Group in the US is planning to sell four of its owned and operated stations, WDAF in Kansas City, Montana; WHBQ in Memphis, Tennessee WGHP in Greensboro, NC; and WBRC in Birmingham, Alabama. to Luther Gatling, head of the non-profit Budget & Credit Counselling Services, based in New York City. Gatling is buying stations in areas with large black populations in Memphis, Greensboro and Birmingham.
The reason for News Corp's sale is that following acquisition of 10 Chris-Craft stations, its combined 31 stations reach 40.7 percent of the US population, five per cent over Congress' mandated 35 percent ownership cap. Viacom is challenging the law later this year and perrsuaded the US Court of Appeals to stay the ownership cap prior to a judgement. Under FCC chairman Michael Powell, the cap was expected to either be raised dramatically or abolished outright, but the arrival of Senator Fritz Hollings on the Senate's commerce committee has cast doubt that the ownership cap will be changed. Hollings has publicly stated he supports the cap.
Guinness Records sold for TV rights
Gullane Entertainment is about to buy the Guinness Book of World Records for £45.5 million ($65 m). The company says its expertise in television and licencing, including products such as Thomas the Tank Engine, will help it increase the visibility of the Guinness World Records brand, which made profits of some £6 million from sales of about £23 million last year.
"We believe the Guinness World Records brand will benefit enormously from our expertise in content production and distribution," said William Harris, Gullane Chief Executive. More than 60 per cent of Gullane's revenues last year came from the licencing of rights to characters including Sooty and Captain Pugwash.
Three-quarters of the company's turnover is generated in the US and the UK, with the balance in Europe and Asia.
The book, initially created to resolve pub disputes, now records some 50,000 achievements and is published in 24 languages in 82 countries.
BBC world privatisation ruled out
THE UK pubcaster, the BBC, is about to rule out the privatisation of BBC World, the broadcaster's commercial arm. Senior executives are keen to pursue partnerships with third-party businesses in to maximise the potential of the Corporation's massive portfolio of programme rights.
The decision not to float rejects the recommendations of the Davies Committee, which was charged with looking at how the BBC might be financed in the future. The committee, chaired by Gavyn Davies, the Goldman Sachs economist, suggested that up to 49 per cent of BBC World should be sold. The committee also recommended that BBC Resources, the programme-making arm of the BBC, should be fully privatised.
Both proposals have now been rejected, even though Davies is Vice-Chairman of the BBC's Board of Governors and a candidate to succeed Sir Christopher Bland, the outgoing Chairman.
Motorola in China contract
Motorola's broadband communications unit will supply Chinese cable television provider Beijing Gehua CATV Network with optical and RF transmission products for a current network upgrade.
It will allow the Chinese cable TV company to offer advanced video, voice, high-speed Internet access and other data services to about 600,000 customers.
"This agreement helps solidify our position as a leading provider of broadband technology in China," said KY Chan, Vice President and General Manager of Asia Pacific for Motorola's broadband communications unit.
DirectTV to boost subs
Roxanne Austin, DirecTV's New President and Chief Operating Officer, has described how the group plans to expand its subscription base.
Austin said, "We do have 41 markets or 61 million households across the country. "I think that you'll see us much more focused on local markets rather than the big national ads you've seen in the past. You're going to see a much more call-to-action type of advertising so that consumers can get the product directly through us.
Austin described the process as 'a sort of re-education' as the cable companies have been telling people that they can't get local channels via satellite. "We now have to reverse that perspective, and we'll do that through a number of means: direct mail, print and television," she said. "Once people realise what we really have to offer, through bandwidth capacity, meaning more channels than cable can offer, our existing and new DSL services for fast Internet service will give us parity with the cable operators on two-way connectivity."
"We plan to roll out our DSL service to the retailers by the end of the third quarter," she said.
As the cable companies roll out video-on-demand, with pause, rewind and fast-forward capabilities, DirecTV has had to come up with a VOD solution of its own. Hartenstein says it has done that by incorporating digital recording devices such as TiVo and Microsoft's Ultimate TV, both of which can record up to 30 to 35 hours of programming onto a hard drive built into the new DirecTV systems.
The announcement comes as reports from within DirecTV say that a deal for the group to become part of the Rupert Murdoch global system will happen within weeks or not at all.
Global win may hit shares
Rupert Murdoch's News Corporation could see the value of its assets fall by around $2.4 billion as a consequence of its planned deal to acquire US satellite TV operator DirecTV.
A report by investment bank ABN Amro predicts that News Corp will emerge with a 27 per cent of the combined Sky Global/DirecTV business which would initially value the company's assets lower than their pre-merger worth. 'This could result in a $US2.4 billion immediate depletion of value for News Corp,' the report said.
The report added that the merger, which will unite Murdoch's satellite TV interests including News Corp's stakes in BskyB and StarTV, will mark a strategic watershed for News Corp.
The bank also said that there was just a 25 per cent chance the deal would not go through. News that DirecTV parent Hughes Corporation has re-structured its senior management is seen by many observers as a sign that the deal should be completed within the next two months.
Microsoft's partial victory
The US Court of Appeals last week rejected a lower ruling which would have forced Microsoft Corp to split itself into two separate companies, but Microsoft's partial victory in this antitrust case is not over.
The appeals court upheld - in part - the lower court's findings that Microsoft illegally used monopoly power to maintain its market dominance. The appeals court sent the case back to the district court with new instructions on how to asses Microsoft's liability in the case and impose the necessary remedies.
The decision was also seen as a victory by the prosecutors, with Assistant US Attorney General Charles James commenting following the ruling that it, "Represents a very significant victory for the Antitrust Division on the core claim in the Microsoft case, that Microsoft engaged in anti-competitive conduct to preserve is monopoly position in computer operating systems."
A contrary view was put by Microsoft Chairman Bill Gates who said that, "The ruling lifts the cloud of breakup over the company, reverses the tying claim and says clearly that we did nothing to monopolise the (Internet) browser market," Gates said in a press conference.
Microsoft Corp appears not to have been violating the law by bundling its Internet browser and operating system (OS) products.
The appeals court vacated the lower court's conviction on tying and further ruled that, for state and federal officials to prove Microsoft guilty of illegal tying, they will have to show that bundling the Microsoft Internet Explorer (IE) with the Windows OS will cause consumers more harm than good.
"It is the plaintiffs burden to show that the anti-competitive effect of the conduct outweighs the benefit," the appeals court wrote in its 125-page ruling.
Since the district court's decision to split Microsoft into two companies rested heavily on its finding that the company was guilty of illegal tying under the Sherman Antitrust Act, Microsoft advocates say today's ruling will undercut future attempts to break the company up.
Members of the Association for Competitive Technology - a pro-Microsoft industry group that has closely tracked the antitrust case - said that today's decision makes the Microsoft case "ripe" for a settlement. "The decision seems designed for a settlement," ACT President Jonathan Zuck said.
By throwing out some of the strongest counts against Microsoft, while at the same time leaving "some meat on the bone" for state and federal prosecutors, the appeals court today opened the door for an amicable resolution of the case, Zuck said.
Neither state and federal officials nor Microsoft today would rule out the possibility of pursuing further appeals in the case, but Gates said that he would be open to a settlement.
Microsoft will "work hard to resolve the issues without the need of continued litigation," Gates said.
But whatever happens next in the case, one thing is clear, it will not go back before Judge Thomas Penfield Jackson, who issued the first district court ruling.
The court ruled that Jackson behaved improperly in the case, discussing his evident bias against Microsoft in a series of media interviews, particularly with journalist Ken Auletta, who published a best-selling book, "World War 3.0" shortly after the breakup order came down. With today's order Judge Jackson has been pulled the case.
TUESDAY 3 JULY 2001
Job cuts at ONdigital
FCC delays 3G allocation
Akamai servers deployed
AT&T and BT shut Concert
Turnstone cuts work force
Alcatel still in trouble
Vivendi against US antitrust
Equant axes 3000
Broadway Factory launched
Tandberg provides Media Network
Hughes selected by DMX/AEI Music
Czech offers 3G licences
Azteca America delays
Job cuts at ONdigital
Rebranding of UK digital terrestrial platform ONdigital as ITV Digital - forecast to occur July 11 - will be accompanied by hundreds of job losses, suggests the UK Observer newspaper.
The cost of rebranding and the future development of its DTT operation will cost owners Granada and Carlton Communications around £1.2 billion over the next few years.
Job cuts will form part of dramatic cost cutting in downsizing which could be announced as soon as next week, when the rebranding strategy is officially unveiled.
FCC delays 3G allocation
The US Federal Communications Commission has put off a decision on allocating airwaves for third-generation wireless services, citing a need for more evaluation.
The Cellular Telecommunications and Internet Association (CTIA) on June 4 asked the FCC to delay the proceedings, which were scheduled for July 7.
In a letter sent to the Commerce Department, FCC Chairman Michael Powell said that he would delay the allocation of the 1710 - 1755 MHz and 2110 - 2150 MHz bands.
In the letter, Powell said the government needs more time to, "complete a careful and complete evaluation of the various possible options for making additional spectrum available for advanced wireless services."
Akamai servers deployed
Akamai Technologies, a facilities-based provider of phone, cable television and high-speed Internet services and RCN Corporation, a provider of distributed application and content delivery services, announced yesterday (July 2nd) the deployment of Akamai' 'edge' servers within the RCN network.
The agreement enables the delivery of all forms of broadband content for Akamai's worldwide customer base of content providers. Leveraging the RCN broadband network, Akamai is boosting the delivery of broadcast-quality audio and video streaming for thousands of today' Web properties and enterprise sites using Akamai' services.
"RCN is working with innovative companies like Akamai to enhance the experience for our broadband Internet subscribers," said Mike Adams, President of Wholesale and New Product Development at RCN Corporation. "We expect Akamai's technology to deliver rich, streaming content to our customers while reducing bandwidth costs for RCN.
Akamai's suite of services enhance Web performance by delivering all forms of content, streaming media and applications from a globally distributed network of thousands of edge servers located close to Internet end users. As a result, businesses benefit from rapid, reliable content delivery, high-quality streaming media delivery, personalised and dynamic Web page assembly, advanced global traffic management, Web usage reporting, and other value-added services.
AT&T and BT shut Concert
AT&T and British Telecommunications are set to scrap their lossmaking Concert joint venture less than a year after they first discussed contributing more assets and customers to expand the business services unit.
While BT officially says no final decision has been made, it admitted a break-up of Concert was under consideration. AT&T declined to comment.
It is believed the companies have decided that dividing up Concert's customers and assets is the only way to stem losses, marking the end of a three-year partnership that never lived up to its potential.
Sir Christopher Bland, Chairman of BT, and Michael Armstrong, his counterpart at AT&T, met on Friday in London to discuss the venture's future. People familiar with that meeting said the Chairmen agreed to consider, among alternatives, a break-up of Concert. Other senior insiders said the companies agreed a break-up was the appropriate step. The only remaining decision was how to unwind contracts and split up customers.
When the venture was set up, investors hoped Concert might revitalise its flagging parent companies by exploiting synergies between large corporate customers in London and New York. According to BT's most recent results, Concert reported a £89 million loss in the quarter to March.
A restructuring of BT's other businesses a year ago exposed substantial overlaps between Concert and Ignite, another division aimed at business customers. In the US, AT&T's business services division often competes with Concert for larger corporate accounts.
Turnstone cuts work force
Turnstone
Systems, hardware and software for broadband services providers, has cut
its work force by approximately 20 per cent, and expects to report a second-quarter
operating loss.
The company did not detail the number of jobs to be cut but said it will
take a charge of $500,000 to $600,000 in the second quarter for costs
associated with the 20 per cent head count reduction.
As a result of the charges, the company expects to report an operating
loss of $45 to $49 million. Excluding acquisition-related charges, stock
compensation charges, and restructuring and inventory-related charges,
Turnstone expects an operating loss of $12 to $13 million for the quarter
on net revenue of approximately $4.5 million.
"The CLEC (competitive local exchange carrier) market continues to
deteriorate, without signs of near-term improvement,'' said Rick Tinsley,
Turnstone's President and Chief Executive Officer. "Despite the progress
we have made to date with incumbent carriers, it remains difficult to
predict a transition in our customer base.
Alcatel still in trouble
French telecoms maker Alcatel was dealt yet another blow as telecoms equipment manufacturer 360networks was forced to declare bankruptcy last week.
Alcatel had invested $700 million in the Canadian company in return for a $1.1 billion undersea cable network that never materialised. Alcatel is now looking for compensation and has appointed a bank to look into the matter.
On Friday last week, Alcatel's Chief Executive, Serge Tchuruk, said that roughly half of the companyØs 100 odd factories would be put up for sale ° a retreat from earlier statements indicating that all but 12 factories would be sold by the end of
2002. Approximately 14,000 workers will be affected by the decision.
Vivendi against US antitrust
French media giant Vivendi Universal has overcome US antitrust objections to its proposed $1.7 billion acquisition of educational publisher Houghton Mifflin Co.
The waiting period under the Hart-Scott-Rodino Antitrust Improvement Act, in which the US Justice Department reviews whether an acquisition threatens competition in the relevant industry, expired June 27 without a request for additional information. Vivendi is planning to buy the publisher for $60 per share cash.
Equant axes 3000
Dutch-based high-speed network service provider Equant is planning to axe 3,000 jobs when it merges with France Telecom's Global One corporate telecoms unit.
While the company will not announce a restructuring before it has informed employees, Equant is targetting 23 per cent of its 13,000-strong joint workforce with Global One.
Broadway Factory launches
Lagardere Active, part of the French Lagardere group, has formed a joint venture with IT consultancy Accenture. Called The Broadway Factory, it will specialise in the conception and operation of interactive content for digital television. The two groups have been working together on interactive television for some years already, so they already know each other well and have developed a high level of cooperation. The Broadway Factory, to be based in Paris but aiming at all the main European markets, will comprise a team of around 30 professionals from media, consulting and IT.
Tandberg provides Media Network
Tandberg Television, a provider of open solutions for digital broadcasting, has been selected by Media Network to provide IP streaming and MPEG-2 to IP conversion solutions for the new medi@inet© service. The medi@inet MPEG over IP distribution network is being launched this week in Oslo and is set to be the first real competitor to satellite based transmission of video in Scandinavia. With the use of a high-speed data network, high quality video is transmitted over a combination of fibre and radiolinks.
RiksToto, the Norwegian horse betting company, which previously based its daily transmission from the racetrack via satellite, is the first user of medi@inet, with all racing footage being delivered over IP.
"We believe that there are strong advantages for IP over traditional telco and satellite links. The cost savings are potentially enormous, IP networks can cost as little as 10 to 25 per cent of traditional satellite distribution," says Simen K Frostad, Business Development Manager of Media Network. "We were able to realise our IP plans thanks to close collaboration with Tandberg Television who are able to provide the technology and know-how to meet our needs."
Jeremy Thorp, CTO of Tandberg Television added, "IP networks are a highly attractive distribution method. However to unlock the cost-efficiencies of IP, the challenge is to be able to convert studio quality (MPEG-2) video and audio into IP feeds, and deliver content that has the same quality as traditional broadcasting. At
Tadndberg Television we have been working on the technology to carry
MPEG-2 over IP for some time and are excited to be deploying the fruits of our efforts in this new system."
Hughes selected by DMX/AEI Music
Hughes Network Systems' DirecWay VSAT systems in the US has been selected by DMX/AEI Music to distribute its music programming and in-store advertising to retailers at more than 180,000 locations worldwide.
The service will be available to businesses in three packages with 15 channels,'so that retailers can create a mood consistent with the characteristics of their customers.'
The music will be downloaded and stored at each location, allowing retailers to change programming according to the time of day and insert local in-store advertising or other messages, HNS explained.
DMX/AEI said it delivers its music services to more than 180,000 business locations and 500,000 airline passengers worldwide, as well as to more than 8.5 million homes.
Czech offers 3G licences
The Czech government has offered third generation licences to the country's three mobile telephone operators for KcE6.7 billion ($168 million) each.
Eurotel, Radiomobil and Cesky Mobil, which operate GSM networks, had already publicly dismissed the government's initial plan of selling four UMTS licences for Kcã5 billion each and are expected to take a cool view of the tender conditions. If one refuses to pay the fixed fee, that licence will be auctioned. If, however, the whole tender fails, the government may threaten to hold an auction for all four licences.
The operators have suggested paying between Kcã1 billion and Kcã2.8 billion for a licence to operate the new frequencies, which allow faster transfer of Internet and data.
They argue that high licence fees would force them to raise their prices and slow down network development. This would in turn stunt growth of the Czech mobile market, one of the most developed in central and East Europe.
But the government has already pencilled in the Kcã20 billion to help narrow this year's budget deficit, swelled by the costs of bailing out the ailing banking sector and the lossmaking state pension system.
Azteca America delays
Azteca America, a partnership between station owner Pappas Telecasting and Mexico-based programmer TV Azteca which was expected to launch this spring, has suffered a series of distribution delays which could postpone launch indefinitely.
The new Hispanic TV broadcast network, has recently had two station-acquisition deals fall through. And a complaint against Azteca America regarding its distribution plans in Los Angeles has been filed with the FCC by rival Hispanic network Telemundo.
"They cannot launch the station until the matter is resolved," said Alan Sokol, COO of Telemundo. Sokol added that Telemundo's FCC complaint against Azteca America is pending.
Losing the Dallas and El Paso outlets lowers Azteca America's current coverage of US Hispanic households to just above 30 per cent of the country. Without a station in LA, the network's coverage would fall into the teens. That would be well below the 40 per cent of the US required by Nielsen Media Research to be considered a national broadcast network. Also adversely affecting Azteca America's ability to put together its station platform was Univision's recent acquisition of 16 TV outlets from USA Network. Some of those outlets had been sought by Azteca.
As a result of the network's uncertain status, advertisers have not been willing to make significant advance commitments to Azteca America, according to media buyers.
WEDNESDAY 4 JULY 2001
Kirch gets world soccer rights
Einstein.tv
showcases in NY
Slow
retreat for Seasons
Sweden
OKs new DTT channels
Playboy
buys hard core channels
Convergys
launches Atlys Release
Fast
alliance between ARD and ZDF
OpenTV
completes acquisition of Static
BBC
licence viability questioned
ITV
becomes ITV1
Compressing
video improves VOD
Nokia
supplies Taiwan
DoCoMo
confident of its 3G service
Lucent
expands Saudi Arabia network
Eutelsat
privatised
Kirch gets world soccer rights
Germany's Kirch Group now owns the world TV rights for the World Soccer Championship 2002 in Korea and 2006 in Germany. The German media group announced on Monday (July 2) that it had taken up its option to acquire the rights. The European rights already belonged to Kirch and recently, after the bankruptcy of the Swiss sports rights agency ISMM Group, it had also taken over the rights for the USA.
Last week the German group took 100 per cent control of of Host Broadcasting Service (HBS), the technical service provider for the worldwide TV and radio feeds for the two soccer championships, which Kirch and ISMM founded in 1999 as a 50/50 joint venture.
Einstein.tv showcases in NY
Einstein.tv, the TV channel dedicated to 'cutting edge science and technology programming' will be show-cased in New York, USA, later this year at an international exhibition promoting the best of modern British design and innovation.
The exhibition, 'Great Expectation in New York', will show at New York's Grand Central terminal from 16 to 27 October 2001.
Slow retreat for Seasons
The German version of the special interest channel Seasons, which targets the outdoor community of hunters and fisherman, will disappear from German screens by end of September this year. James Wells, General Manager of the French digital bouquet provider multiThematique, primarily blames the German cable fees that German channel providers have to pay for their carriage.
"The big German three, Kirch, Bertelsmann and the public broadcasters, get a huge discount, while smaller channels have to pay three times their price", Wells says. Obviously, the changes in the German cable market did not come fast enough for the new French multiThematique management which was only installed this year. Besides the French media group Vivendi, Liberty Media which is about to acquire several German cable TV franchises from Deutsche Telekom, is a shareholder in multiThematique.
Another possible reason is that Seasons, along with the documentary channel Planete, is part of Kirch's Premiere World platform which is still far behind projections in terms of subscribers. In the current season it is reaching 75,000 subscribers while at least 150,000 are required for a viable service, sources say. MultiThematiques Germany claims to have been the fasted growing German TV channel in 2000 winning over 40 per cent of viewers as new subscribers. By 1998, only one year after the launch, multiThematique had already closed the two classic movie channels which it had launched on the Kirch digital platform just one year earlier, when it gave the same reason as today, the high costs for cable distribution.
Sweden OKs new DTT channels
At the Swedish DTT authority's latest meeting last Friday (June 29) the national government decided to authorise Radio& TV-verket, the Swedish Radio & TV Authority, to officially put out three new multiplexes to tender, meaning the establishing of another 12 to 15 new services in addition to the present 14 channels.
In the light of the recent decision by Modern Times Group to withdraw its present five services (TV3, ZTV, TV8, Viasat Sport and premium pay service TV1000) as of August 15, the government now seems firmly decided to rapidly cover for the loss of the MTG channels. It also plans to give the ailing DTT project a quick injection of new channels: the Radio & TV Authority is now putting all these new licences out for tender, with a deadline as early as August 7.
Just weeks later, the government expects the Authority to hand in its suggestion for new licencees on August 27.
Two international operators, Eurosport and Nickelodeon, are already half way in, through their recent agreements with DTU7 and K-World respectively, to lease transmission capacity. Also other major international operators such as MTV and CNN are reported to be knocking on Sweden's DTT door.
The Radio & TV Authority is, once again, pointing out that no 'admission fee' is being charged to the potential applicants. In a press statement the Ministry of Culture states that a decision about awarding of licences 'will be taken as soon as possible' after the recommendations from the Radio & TV Authority.
Playboy buys hard core channels
In a move which had been expected by the industry, Playboy Enterprises made the leap from soft- to hard-core pornography on Monday (June 2nd) with the purchase of Vivid TV, a hardcore offering, for $41.7 million as well as the $28.3 million purchase of The Hot Network and The Hot Zone.
The company said in a statement that the deals, "Significantly expand the programming options it offers consumers and distributors."
Chris Hefner, Chief Executive of Playboy and daughter of the founder, Hugh, has previously insisted that the Playboy brand was dedicated to, "Upscale rather than downscale entertainment."
The Playboy brand, she said, was not about pornography, but, "The passions of men". The company has moved into TV and the internet just as more explicitly sexual material is screened on websites and pornographic cable channels.
Playboy Enterprises said on Monday the deal would add $5 million to earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation in 2001.
Convergys launches Atlys Release
Convergys Corporation, integrated billing and customer care services company, announced yesterday (July 3) the availability of Atlys Release 7.0 product, which gives wireless network operators greater flexibility and enables competitive advantage in deploying next-generation mobile services.
Wireless service providers use Convergys' Atlys to support the billing and customer care needs of subscribers worldwide. AT&T Wireless Services recently announced it will deploy Atlys as its 3G billing and customer care solution.
A highlight of Atlys Release 7.0 is the incorporation of clearly defined open APIs. These APIs adhere to the CORBA standard and enable Atlys Release 7.0 to facilitate data exchange via XML (extensible markup language). With this wireless network operators and system integrators supporting wireless operators can more quickly integrate Atlys' billing and customer care functionality with third-party software. Atlys Release 7.0 also provides APIs to Vitria Enterprise Application Integration (EAI) middleware, which is used by mobile operators to simplify their interface issues and data exchange.
Beyond the benefits of open APIs, mobile operators can build additional customer loyalty and reduce churn with Atlys 7.0's enhanced support for marketing programs and new payment options. Mobile operators who deploy this newest release of Atlys have the capability to leverage real-time cross-service discounting, point rewards, and split account liability to fashion service bundles and loyalty programs that attract and retain customers.
For example, because of enhancements to Atlys' integrated, network-based, prepaid and postpaid functionality in Release 7.0, customers can change their account status from prepaid to postpaid or vice versa in real time, replenish their available balance with prepaid vouchers (scratch cards), and make larger prepayments in exchange for lower usage charges.
Fast alliance between ARD and ZDF
The German public broadcasters ARD and ZDF have joined forces with commercial broadcasters to demand a broad discussion on the technical and operational conditions under which cable TV systems in Germany have to be operated in the future.
In the positioning paper the TV providers say that the total of nine regional cable operations reaching over 18 million German cable homes, require a common technical standard so every service provider can access each of the evolving Full-Service-Networks without restrictions.
The paper seems a bit out of tune with the times, in relation to the current situation in which Liberty Media has acquired over 10 million homes. However, the discussion is still welcome on both the public and the commercial TV provider side. Besides the fear of a new monopoly, not by the state but a commercial one, Liberty announced that it plans to finance the upgrading of the systems from the systems' cash flow. That means that in its first step the systems will not reach 865MHz but only 540MHz (instead of currently 450 MHZ) to provide telephony and fast Internet services. That means the capacity for additional TV services is much more limited for now than TV makers had hoped.
OpenTV completes acquisition of Static
OpenTV, the interactive television and media solutions company, has completed its previously announced acquisition of Static 2358 Holdings Limited ('Static'), a privately-held iTV media and entertainment company.
Static's shareholders and option-holders are receiving an aggregate of 2,719,048 OpenTV Class A Ordinary Shares and approximately $13.105 million in cash in connection with completion of the acquisition. The cash component includes approximately $1.104 million in termination payments being made to certain senior Static personnel who are being terminated in connection with the transaction and excludes certain taxes being withheld in respect of payments made to Static option-holders in exchange for the surrender of their Static options.
In addition, the principal shareholders of Static may receive additional considerations of up to 626,872 OpenTV Class A Ordinary Shares and approximately $3.675 million in aggregate in the event Static meets certain performance criteria during the quarterly periods ending September 30, 2001 and December 31, 2001.
BCC licence viability questioned
A senior executive at UK pubcaster, the BBC, has cast doubt on the long-term viability of the licence fee method of funding the corporation, warning that the annual payment may not guarantee unlimited access to the corporation's content.
Ashley Highfield, Director of New Media, said the heavy cost of distributing content on the Internet could lead to limits on the amount of BBC content licence fee-payers could access.
He said heavy-users of the BBC might have to 'top-up' their licence fee with additional payments, ending the corporation's status as universally free at the point of delivery.
"The licence fee could give viewers a certain amount of credit to use a certain amount of content and once that credit has run out they would have to top it up," he said.
The proposal is among the most radical made by a senior BBC official and signals an acceptance within parts of the corporation that its current funding model is unsustainable. But the comments are likely to spark resistence from more conservative parts of the public service broadcaster. On Monday, the BBC stressed that Highfield's idea was speculative.
Highfield, who heads the BBC's Internet and interactive television operations, warned that the cost of "streaming" television pictures over the web could cost "several billions" of pounds when high-speed Internet services were more widespread.
News and education content would be 'ring-fenced' to guarantee unlimited access to the BBC's core public services, he added. The idea would not be on the agenda when the BBC's charter next comes up for renewal in 2006 but could be an option the time after, in 2011.
The BBC has established a heavy presence on the Internet, which it has developed as a third medium for delivering its output, alongside television and radio.
The Consumers' Association said Mr Highfield's comments needed "careful scrutiny". It warned that most licence fee-payers had not gone online and received their BBC content through traditional terrestrial television channels.
ITV becomes ITV1
ITV, Britain's most highest rating commercial television channel, will re-brand itself ITV1 later this year as part of a wider restructure of its terrestrial, digital and online businesses.
The re-positioning will follow the re-branding of the network's pay-TV platform ONdigital as ITV Digital. From next Wednesday (11 July) the ONdigital moniker will disappear and be replaced by a new ITV Digital logo.
At the same time the pay-TV platform's Internet service ONnet will be rebranded as ITV Active. ITV2, the network's digital entertainment channel remains as it is, sitting in the middle of ITV1 and ITV Sport, the new sports channel which will launch on Saturday 11 August.
Brand managers were concerned that the extension of the ITV name into pay television for the first time could confuse viewers who associated it solely with the free-to-air channel three.
"In one step, the change to ITV1 for the network will convey that ITV is now a family of brands," said Stuart Prebble, Chief Executive of ITV. "With the continued growth of multi-channel television, the time is right for the ITV brand to develop so that the full range of services we offer can be promoted under a consistent identity. In one simple step, the change to ITV1 for the Network will convey that ITV is now a family of brands,' he said in a statement.
ITV already broadcasts a digital entertainment channel called ITV2 and plans to launch an ITV Sport station this summer. Internet services are also being developed...
Compressing video improves VOD
Still in beta tests, On2 Technologies is using the new VP4 method of compressing video and audio streams, which is being hailed as a more profitable model for rolling out video-on-demand.
The method
is reported to use less bandwidth while providing higher quality, promising
up to 15 per cent reduction in bandwidth usage, compared with video streaming
standards used by larger companies such as Microsoft and RealNetworks.
Until recently, the cost of transmitting a two-hour movie over broadband
was about $5 - roughly $2 more than most viewers will pay for a movie
rental. But with the new technology, the cost falls to about $1.25, leaving
room for profit even after the cost of content is added.
"You're getting a benefit on two fronts," said On2 CEO Douglas McIntyre.
"Bandwidth costs are dropping and compression technology is improving.
It means that any of the long-form feature programs that you see now,
including sports and movies - the really expensive stuff that studios
spend $100 million to produce - can get to market without back-breaking
costs."
More important, the ability to sell video services over broadband could
give the incumbent carriers a stronger financial incentive to roll out
DSL service, since they would be able to sell more services.
Nokia supplies Taiwan
Telecom equipment maker Nokia is to supply Taiwan's state-owned operator Chunghwa Telecom with a broadband DSL access system to enable multimedia on demand.
"Nokia will deliver the main access nodes to help take Chunghwa from plain fast Internet connectivity services to full-blown broadband streaming media services," Nokia said in a statement. Consumers will be able to use the system to order videos via their television sets.
DoCoMo confident of its 3G service
Japanese
mobile phone giant NTT DoCoMo is confident its third generation services
would become as popular as its current Internet-enabled i-mode.
Keiji Tachikawa, President of the group, dismissed technical glitches
that have plagued 3G and delayed its launch, saying any such innovative
service was bound to run into teething problems.
On May 30, Japan's largest mobile phone operator launched a trial operation
of its 3G service, which has faster wireless connections that allow users
to browse the Internet and download music, data and video into their cell
phones.
NTT DoCoMo scaled back a commercial launch of 3G services last month to
an introductory service that will operate until October 1. It received
applications for over 147,000 3G phones for the trial service, but will
only issue 4,000 phones.
The share price of Japan's biggest company by market value fell by 3.23
per cent on Monday to 2.1 million yen, underperforming the benchmark Nikkei
average, which closed down 1.68 per cent.
Lucent expands Saudi Arabia network
Telecommunications equipment manufacturer Lucent Technologies signed on a four-year contract worth more than $150 million with telecom services provider Saudi Telecom Co on Monday (July 2) to expand Saudi Arabia's national wireline network by 150,000 subscribers and allow broadband services.
It will install remote access equipment and upgrade the network's existing switching capability to accommodate the larger user base.
Eutelsat privatised
At an Extraordinary
General Assembly in Paris, the assets and activities of the Eutelsat intergovernmental
organisation were transferred on July 2 into Eutelsat SA (societe anonyme),
a limited liability company headquartered in Paris with a registered share
capital of E1,000,000,000.
Giuliano Berretta, who as Director General of the Eutelsat Organisation
steered the privatisation process, was appointed Chairman of the Management
Board and CEO of Eutelsat by the new company's 15-member Supervisory Board.
The Supervisory Board, chaired by Jean-Jacques Damlamian, also appointed
Jean-Paul Brillaud, Charles Hindson and Volker Steiner to the Management
Board. Jean-Paul Brillaud is also Corporate Development Director and Deputy
CEO, Charles Hindson is Finance Director, and Volker Steiner is Commercial
Director.
On the formal
creation of Eutelsat, Giuliano Berretta said, "Eutelsat has embraced change
with energy. This is another milestone in our development. Eutelsat will
build on the successes of its past to deliver new value-added services
for corporate and consumer markets, as testified by new initiatives such
as our OPEN-SKY multimedia service. Our new corporate structure will also
facilitate opportunities for external growth. With continued geographic
expansion and more innovative and effective end-to-end solutions, Eutelsat
will continue to be a major player in the global marketplace."
Eutelsat has a diversified shareholder base, consisting principally of
telecommunications and media companies headquartered in 48 different countries.
Larger shareholders include France Telecom (23.1 per cent), Telecom Italia
(20.5 per cent), British Telecom (17.5 per cent) and Deutsche Telekom
(10.9 per cent).
THURSDAY 5 JULY 2001
Roger
seeks television and channel licenses
Telesat
starts construction on Nimiq 2
Mediacom
acquires cable TV system
ESPN
goes mobile
Eutelsat
ready for takeover
SBCA
showcases in Nashville
Danish
DTT slow advance
PCCW
axes staff
Australia
against Singapore/Optus takeover
BBC
reviews BBC Worldwide
Marconi's
share suspended
Alcatel
adopts new stance
Brazil's
Globo chops work force
Banco
steps back from Vodaphone
Sony
to halt plans on PlayStation2
Roger
seeks television and channel licenses
Rogers Media a division of Rogers Communications Inc, the holding company
which also owns Canada's Largest MSO, Rogers Cable, has applied for three
television station licences in Southern Ontario and for three digital
cable channel licences aimed at the 12 to 34 demographic. Rogers already
owns CFMT-TV a multilingual station based in Toronto and The Shopping
Channel as well as bits and pieces of other broadcast operations. As of
yet, no details of the proposed channels have been released, except that
they would correspond to print assets the company owns.
Telesat starts construction on Nimiq 2
Telesat Canada has begun construction on Nimiq 2, the company's second DBS bird. The satellite is expected to be launched and in service during 2003. It will have 32 active 24 MHz Ku-band transponders with 120W power amplifiers and a Ka-band payload for broadband services. The satellite wil be built by Lockheed Martin and launched by International Launch Services at Cape Canaveral. Bell ExpressVu has contracted for capacity on Nimiq 2. Telesat has five satellites in operation, with plans to launch three more. Telesat launched the world's first domestic commercial communications satellite in 1972. Once owned by the Canadian government it is now wholly owned by telco holding company Bell Canada Enterprises.
Mediacom acquires cable TV system
Mediacom Communications Corporation in the US has completed the acquisition of cable television systems serving approximately 94,000 basic subscribers in Missouri as part of its previously announced agreements to acquire cable systems from affiliates of AT& Broadband.
The purchase price for the Missouri systems is approximately $309 million, after preliminary closing adjustments. This transaction comprises systems serving Columbia, Jefferson City and Springfield, Missouri. The Company expects to close the other previously announced acquisitions, involving cable systems in Georgia, Illinois and Iowa, in the third quarter of 2001. Credit Suisse First Boston, JP Morgan, and Salomon Smith Barney served as financial advisors to Mediacom. Daniels & Associates represented AT& Broadband in the sale of the systems.
Mediacom is the eigth largest cable television operator in the United States based on customers served, after giving effect to the acquisitions of the AT&T systems, with cable systems passing approximately 2.6 million homes and serving approximately 1.6 million basic subscribers in 23 states.
ESPN goes mobile
The US sports channel ESPN has signed a deal with Arch Wireless, whereby the Westborough, Massachusetts-based wireless Internet messaging and mobile information company will deliver up-to-the-minute sports news and information to wireless messaging customers.
ESPN To Go, available on Motorola messaging devices, will enable fans to receive the latest scores, statistics, late-breaking news, injury reports and more throughout the day on their wireless devices. The service is expected to launch in time for the 2001 American football season.
Eutelsat ready for takeover
Following the Tuesday July 3rd privatisation announcement by Eutelsat (see news Archive), the European intergovernmental satellite organisation is now reported to be searching for a potential takeover target.
Giuliano Berretta, Eutelsat Director General, and now CEO and chairman of the private company's management board, had indicated that an expanded presence in North America would be sought. Consequently likely targets include satellite operators PanAmSat Corp - likely to be spun off if ultimate parent GM, (and Hughes) conclude their sale of DirecTV to Murdoch's Sky Global operation, and the Loral Skynet unit of Loral Space and Communications.
The 48 members of the former Eutelsat consortium are now shareholders Eutelsat, a limited liability company headquartered in Paris with a registered share capital equivalent to about $847.9 million. The new company will sell at least 30 per cent of its stock in an IPO within the next two years. Company revenues were about $582 million last year.
A 15-member supervisory board for the new company is chaired by Jean-Jacques Damlamian, Group Executive Vice President for Development at France Telecom, and includes several Eutelsat executives - Jean-Paul Brillaud, Charles Hindson and Volker Steiner. Brillaud is Corporate Development Director and Deputy CEO, Hindson is Finance Director and Steiner is Commercial Director.
SBCA showcases in Nashville
The US Satellite Broadcasting & Communications Association (SBCA) 2001 at the National Convention and Exhibition August 2 to 4, Nashville, Tennesse, USA, will include keynote speaches during the show from Charlie Ergen, Chairman and CEO of EchoStar Communications Corp, Eddy Hartenstein, Chairman and CEO of DirecTv Inc, and Mark Pagon, President, Chairman and CEO of Pegasus Communications Corp.
The convention, to be held at Nashville's Opryland Hotel, also will feature a state-of-the-industry address by SBCA President Chuck Hewitt.
"We are excited that the premier players in the satellite business will be gathered under one roof, especially with all of the recent happenings within the industry," Hewitt said.
Ergen and Hartenstein will be keynote speakers during the morning session on August 2, followed by Hewitt's presentation in the afternoon. On the morning of August 3, Pagon will be the keynote speaker. The convention also will include general sessions on High-Definition Television and the Multiple Dwelling Unit market.
Danish DTT slow advance
While Sweden is already into its third year of DTT and Finland just about to start (a massive launch is planned for August 21), the two other Nordic countries, Denmark and Norway, are still lagging behind. Now Denmark is making moves to take its first steps into the new digital terrestrial world. The country's major political parties have been sent home by the Ministry of Culture to identify a workable way to take Denmark into the digital future.
Most parties seem to be united in this task, though the Liberals and the Conservatives have chosen to stand aside, advocating more private solutions, but the governing Social democrats and their three supporting parties have all agreed to find a functioning solution in this issue.
Two main alternatives have already been put forward. The most radical has been delivered by Zentropa, a production company where Lars von Trier, the highly controversial film maker and director of films like 'The Idiots', 'Breaking the Waves' and 'Dancer In The Dark' is one of the founding fathers. Zentropa advocates a solution where one of the planned five multiplexes will be reserved for Internet-based channels. According to Zentropa this solution, giving access to some 200 niche services, would become a major driving force for a Danish DTT enterprise.
On the other side there are the two Danish national public service broadcasters, Danmarks Radio, DR, and its commercial counterpart, TV2. For once the two rivals are united in advocating that they should be the mainstay of a future Danish DTT operation. TV2 in particular has taken a very active interest in the establisment of a Danish DTT project, in the last few years even offering to pay for the establishment out of its own pockets.
Now there is a political consensus that three of the five planned multiplexes should be given to DR, TV2 and the other present players on the Danish television arena, i.e. Swedish MTG‘s TV3 and its supporting channel 3+ and SBS‘s two channel TVDanmark operation.
DR TV2 today have a clear lead in the Danish broadcasting field: recently the two broadcasters acquired the national Danish transmitter network, with its present 16 transmitters, from TDC, formerly TeleDanmark, the old state-controlled telecom monopoly, since a number of years fully privatised.
PCCW axes staff
Pacific Century Cyberworks (PCCW) has acted to slash its costs by announcing that 340 staff members are to be fired.
The cuts from the company's consumer Internet division look like making good chairman Richard Li's undertaking to make its Netvigator platform a content aggregator as it reduces the amount of programming it produces in order to cut costs. The development comes in the wake of a $890 million loss announced in April.
The retrenched staff are to be paid until August 20, just three days after the end of a three-year moratorium on staff cuts that PCCW agreed to as part of the deal to by Hongkong Telecom from Cable & Wireless.
The staff cuts are in reaction to the financial losses and to calls from the market for PCCW to make its strategy for the consumer Internet division clearer.
PCCW earlier this year said it would cap spending on its consumer Internet initiatives at $200 million a year, although with further announcements expected from the company later this week are expected to reduce this figure even further.
Australia against Singapore/Optus takeover
Australia's military has signaled that it will not stand in the way of Singapore Telecom's $8 billion takeover of Cable & Wireless Optus.
The Department of Defence had expressed concerns that the deal would impact on national security as it was due to be examined by the Foreign Investment
Review Board.
A spokesman for Defence said that a deed of agreement "satisfies our defence security requirements. I don't anticipate there will be any issue of concern."
Gunnar Tuisk, director general of the department's communications system division, said the security systems that SingTel will use to maintain the secrecy called for the military, included compartmented operations, protection of sensitive information, step in powers and performance guarantees.
The go-ahead on the part of the military comes after Communications minister Richard Alston said last month "Its okay for foreigners to come into the country and offer competition," adding that to refuse them entry would be a threat to investment in the country.
Channel Seven's owner Kerry Stokes has criticised Singapore's economic system and said it was an impediment to the SingTel takeover, although his comments were regarded more as a negotiating tactic since his company has been in talks to buy Optus' pay TV division, among other areas.
BBC reviews BBC Worldwide
The BBC is planning to review the publishing operations of BBC Worldwide, the division that produces the spin-off merchandising for programmes ranging from Match of the Day to Teletubbies.
As part of the review, the BBC will consider joint venture publishing for its magazines for the first time, which will pave the way for other private companies to cash in on the success of BBC magazine brands like Radio Times, Good Food and Top of the Pops.
But the move will anger publishing giants such as Emap and IPC, which have long complained that the BBC's magazines had an unfair commercial advantage because of their tie-in with television programmes.
Within the magazine division, a reorganisation will regroup the titles according to product types. Peter Phippen, the former managing director of BBC Worldwide, will return from the US to become managing director of magazines while the Radio Times editor, Nicholas Brett, will be his deputy.
The BBC Worldwide UK managing director, Peter Teague, is expected to become the managing director of consumer publishing with responsibility for books and videos.
Marconi's share suspended
Shares in Marconi, the telecoms equipment, maker were suspended on Tuesday (July 3), as it agreed to sell its Medical Systems business to Philips for $1.1 billion.
Marconi shares closed at 245p on Monday, down from a peak of £12.50 during the technology boom in late 1999.
The announcement had a knock-on effect across Europe, with technology and telecoms stocks suffering. Marconi's French rival Alcatel was one of the biggest losers, with its shares falling by about 5 per cent. Nokia was down almost 4 per cent, while Ericsson fell more than 3 per cent. UK telecoms test specialist Spirent also fell by more than 8 per cent.
Any disappointment at the price the unit fetched may be soothed by Philips entering into a five-year technology supply partnership worth $150 million to Marconi. Marconi's Medical Systems comprises its Medical Equipment Imaging business, which has 4,295 employees across 100 countries and recorded $1bn in sales in the year to March 31, and Healthcare Products, which Philips said it would sell following the completion of the deal.
Philips said the acquisition would make it the second largest manufacturer of medical diagnostic imaging equipment, following its recent purchase of Agilent's Healthcare Solutions Group, which it expects to close in the current quarter.
Alcatel adopts new stance
French telecoms equipment maker Alcatel plans to adopt a wait-and-see stance on the sector.
"It's a very cyclical industry and we have adapted our organisation, notably by using temporary workers" Alcatel boss Serge Tchuruk said in an interview. "We are going to halt production at a factory in the United States. And we are going to adopt a wait-and-see position until demand picks up again, which it will."
AOL Time Warner will offer high-speed Internet services from Juno Online Services and High Speed Access over its cable television systems.
AOL Time Warner will also introduce high-speed service from EarthLink, with whom it struck a deal in November 2000, and from its own Internet unit, AOL, to Time Warner cable subscribers.
Approval from the Federal Trade Commission would enable AOL Time Warner to "immediately implement" the first wide-scale introduction of broadband multiple ISP service, the company said in the petition.
The company has said it plans to begin offering EarthLink's high-speed Internet service in the second half of this year.
Brazil's Globo chops work force
Globo Cabo, Brazil's No. 1 cable television firm, intent to chop about one-fifth of its work force to help reduce spending on infrastructure and seek out cost cutting opportunities on contracts in a bid to save about 100 million reais ($42.7 million) annually, or about 10 percent of costs.
Globo Cabo Chief Executive Officer Moyses Pluciennik said,"A large proportion of our costs are dollar denominated, our programming, our satellite agreements, and our revenue is real (currency) denominated, so our top line is being squeezed down and our costs squeezed up."
The cost cutting drive also aims to offset the damaging effects of a slowdown in economic activity on the company's client growth. Brazil is suffering from an energy shortage and power rationing that is putting the brakes on its economic engine.
Globo Cabo has a hefty debt load of about $800 million, of which about 58 per cent is dollar denominated, Pluciennik said. Still, most of the debt is long-term, with a maturity of three years, and the company does not plan any major restructuring.
Higher foreign debt costs put a hole in Globo Cabo's bottom
line in the first quarter, with its quarterly loss widening six fold over the year-ago period.
Banco steps back from Vodaphone
Spain's Banco Santander Central Hispano has reduced its stake in British mobile phone operator Vodafone Group Plc to 1.62 per cent from a previous 2.71 per cent.
The sale represented a capital gain of 269.5 billion pesetas for the Spanish bank, BSCH said in a note to Spanish stock market regulators.
Sony to halt plans on PlayStation2
The US and Japan asked Sony to halt plans that would have resulted in the PlayStation 2 game console being made in China. The request is due to fears that the DVD capability of the PS2 could be converted to military use.
The two governments are pointing to the PlayStation 2's DVD ability as being possibly helpful to China's military. Sony in July was to begin receiving up to 400,000 game units each month from two Taiwanese outsourcers.
Asustek Computer and Acer, which are outside manufacturers for Sony, both planned to produce some of the game consoles at plants based in China. Asustek now uses its Chinese plant to produce bare-bones desktop systems for Sony. Acer, Taiwan's top PC maker, began production of computer components, including CD-ROM and DVD drives, in China last year, say reports.
FRIDAY 6 JULY 2001
Dutch
authority ask UPC and Casema
Danish
Egmont recruits new MD
Boomerang
launches on Telewest
Granada
and Carlton wants more from OnDigital
Sky launches PPV soccer
Private
Media appoints banker
10
years to go on digital
Showtime
trusts in Lebanese economy
Kingston
presents new service at IBC
Kamera aquires its competitor
AOL
provides BYOA
Pay-TV viewers also pay attention
High-speed
only for streaming Elton
King shows China fight PPV
Photo system on Liberate
Granada/Last Minute in alliance
Dutch question UPC/Casema price hike
European
cablecos United Pan-Europe Communications and France Telecom-owned Casema,
have been requested provide more information about their plans to raise
basic monthly subscriptions by the Dutch competition authority, NMa.
"We want to know what they want to do, because together Casema and UPC
have almost a monopoly position," said NMa spokesman Richard Matthijsse
.
Both companies say that new digital services now being rolled out require
additional investment in infrastructure and customer equipment.
Casema has run a media campaign to pursuade local and national governments
to allow the monthly fees to be increased, and UPC has said it supports
higher rates.
Dutch CATV subscribers pay on average E12 ($10) per month for basic cable
TV services, the lowest fee in Western Europe.
Danish Egmont recruits new MD
On Wednesday (July 4) the board of Danmark's Egmont Group, one of Scandinavia's largest and most influential media conglomerates, announced the appointment of Steffen Kragh as its new President and CEO. Kragh is due to take up his new post on August 6.
Kragh succeeds Norwegian Jan O Froeshaug, who, after serving Egmont for 14 years as MD, unexpectedly announced last January that he was not going to renew his contract as leader of Egmont. Immediately rumours spread that his resignation was not totally voluntary, but these subsided when the company's financial results showed falling profits for Egmont. After Froeshaug's decision became known Erik D Jensen, another Egmont veteran, was appointed acting MD of the company.
Steffan Kragh aged 37 years has an MSc and an MBA degree, as well as having studied strategy and marketing at the University of New York. He joined Egmont in 1993, and in 1999 he was given the task of taking over the management of all Egmonts's Nordic book activities. Under the aegis of Kragh, the Egmont book publishing unit expanded to become one of Egmont's most profitable business units.
Egmont, like its Scandinavian rivals Bonnier and Schibsted, is a company with roots in middle 19th century book publishing. In later decades Egmont expanded rapidly in the world of media, particularly after its merger with Nordisk Film ten years ago.
Today the group runs 113 companies in 24 countries with some 4400 employees, developing, producing and distributing what the group itself describes as 'quality entertainment' in magazines, comics, books, films, TV-programmes, games and various Internet activities for children and adults. In its home country of Denmark Egmont/ Nordisk Film has long had an almost monopoly-like position in film production and distribution, cinema ownership, and home video distribution. Egmont also controls one-third of Norway's biggest TV station, TV2, and has an longstanding arrangement with the Disney empire over publication of Disney comic magazines, not just in Scandinavia but also in many parts of Central and Eastern Europe.
Boomerang launches on Telewest
Boomerang, the UK classic cartoon channel from Cartoon Network, is to launch on UK cableco Telewest's digital service, in its Supreme Package from mid-July.
Currently available on digital satellite, Boomerang was the second highest rating kids' channel (amongst 4 to 9s) in May 2001, beaten only by sister channel Cartoon Network.
Casey Harwood, Commercial Director UK & Ireland, at Turner Broadcasting said, "The launch of Boomerang means that Telewest Active Digital will carry all of Turner's UK channels. Telewest consistently delivers high penetration for their TV packages and I am sure the addition of Boomerang will help grow this further."
Programming highlights for Boomerang this year will include Thunderbirds, Tom and Jerry, Pink Panther, Scooby-Doo, Sylvester and Tweety, Help...It's the Hair Bear Bunch and The Flintstones. Boomerang is available from 6am to midnight, seven days a week and is operated by Turner Broadcasting System Europe Limited, an AOL Time Warner Company.
Granada and Carlton to squeeze OnDigital
UK ITV companies Granada and Carlton Communications are seeking to recover more money from their investment in digital terrestrial offsping OnDigital as they have come under growing pressure from shareholders to improve the economics of the loss-making business.
OnDigital is looking to move quietly over the next two years to recoup the money it spends on set-top boxes by increasing the cost of subscriptions and charging for multi-function boxes.
ONdigital last month raised the price of its basic pre-paid annual subscription package to £119 from £99. Executives are now understood to be considering a new package with more channels in the autumn, which will cost around £150.
As ONdigital introduces next generation set-top boxes, which include web browsers and digital recording devices, it was suggested that the company will aim to get consumers to pay the full cost for the equipment.
The future of ONdigital had been thrown into doubt following the leak of a letter to the Prime Minister from Charles Allen, Granada Chairman, suggesting that the company was in trouble - which could jepordise government digital TV plans - hence its parents needed to be allowed to merge.
Sky launches PPV soccer
The first 11 matches of the English soccer Premier League are to be shown on pay-per-view, with Sky Box Office delivering the recently-acquired 40 live pay-per-view Premier League matches on a new dedicated channel, Premiership Plus.
The channel launch follows the completion of a deal with the Premier League last week, in which Sky, ONdigital, Telewest and NTL agree a £180 million fee for the matches. All Sky digital subscribers will be able to see the matches on channel 433, Prices are expected to be announced this month, with OnDigital saying it will make matches available on a stand alone basis or as part of a package.
Premiership Plus will use the same format as Sky Sports' Super Sunday and Monday Night Football shows, except that the preview to each game being 30 minutes long instead of an hour. Premiership Plus coverage will mostly air from 13:30 on Sundays, with kick-off at 14:00. Midweek coverage will begin at 19:30, with kick-off at 20:00.
The first live match on Premiership Plus will be Chelsea at home to Newcastle United on Sunday 19 August, followed by Blackburn Rovers v Manchester United on 22 August and Aston Villa again versus Manchester United on 26 August.
Private Media appoints banker
The Barcelona-based group, Private Media, a Nasdaq-listed pornography group which sells hardcore pornography in 35 countries, appointing Commerzbank to explore the possibility of a secondary listing in Europe, in an attempt to raise money to meet the growing demand for its products on cable television and websites.
Commerzbank has emerged as a banker to the pornography industry in Europe. The German bank advised Beate Uhse, the German sex merchandise group, when it listed in Frankfurt in 1999.
Executives say they expect to be able to raise E50 million to E70 million in Europe. "In the last six months, we have been approached by different banks and institutions. They see this sector as becoming more and more mainstream," Berth Milton, Chief Executive, said.
Earlier this week Playboy Enterprises, the owner of Playboy magazine which has long limited itself to what it calls 'tasteful erotica', bought Vivid TV, a hardcore TV channel in the US.
Commerzbank also lent £97.5 million to help Richard Desmond, owner of UK-based pornographic magazine publisher Northern & Shell, buy The Express newspaper group last year.
10 years to go on digital
Greg Dyke, BBC director-general, is reported to have said that it would be 10 years before all viewers had access to digital television, warning that the government was unlikely to meet its deadline to convert the entire population to digital between 2006 and 2010.
The comments coincided with the BBC's annual report to licence fee-payers at the end of Dyke's first full year heading up the coporation.
Savings of £45 million were made towards Dyke's target of cutting £166m of costs within three years. An extra £165 million was invested in programming, taking the proportion of spending on content above 80 per cent.
BBC1 suffered a year-on-year decline in audiences, amid growing competition from multi-channel services - resulting in criticism in the press of Dyke's and other senior executives' performance bonuses. But BBC2 and BBC radio enjoyed increases.
BBC Worldwide, the BBC's commercial arm, returned a record £96 million for investment in programming and other public services, following a 14 per cent increase in turnover to £587 million.
Showtime urges Lebanese pirate clampdown
There are enormous potential benefits to the Lebanese economy in terms of job creation, revenue generation and inward investment from rigorous enforcement of international copyright laws said Lina Abi Abdallah, Showtime Regional Manager for the Levant, speaking at a media briefing by the Moving Picture Association.
"Strict
copyright protection would send a signal to multinational companies that
Lebanon is the place to do business in the Middle East. The country is
the most entrepreneurial in the region and has the most educated workforce
with particular talents in the IT, media, entertainment and music sectors,
yet companies are choosing nother cities in the Middle East for their
regional headquarters.
The MPA's copyright protection initiative was also supported by Lebanon's
Minister of Information, His Excellency Ghazi Areedi, and Sheikh Saleh
Kamel, Chairman of ART.
Market research company Statistics Lebanon revealed its latest report
that the Lebanese economy is losing over $40 million a year through piracy
of international satellite TV channels. This figure alone represents the
entire annual budget of a single Ministry.
The deficit is derived from losses in tax revenue and is compounded by
the deterioration of all sectors of the audiovisual market, including
a 50 per cent decline in cinema sales and the closure of more than 3,000
video rental stores.
Kingston presents new service at IBC
Kingston inmedia, the satellite-centric broadband applications provider of Kingston Communications will showcase its K exchange, a flexible IP streaming and file transfer service, and Centre K, a hosted and customisable asset management service, at this year's IBC (RAI, Amsterdam, September 14-18).
New services launching at IBC, include:
Centre K, customisable asset management services for digital content owners. The Centre K portfolio includes archiving, manipulation, management and collocation services for broadcasters, enterprises, telcos, content providers and ISPs. Centre K services include the automated playout for up to 48 TV channels, the local hosting of remote web-sites and IP multicasting all colocated with Kingston inmedia's two high capacity teleports.
K exchange, a flexible IP streaming and data transfer service, K exchange quickly and accurately enables customers to share and transfer data through the intuitive web-based K exchange data management interface.
These new services join the existing Kingston inmedia portfolio, which have been re-branded, using the letter K, as follows:
Studio K, a complete range of studio services for the programme maker, including what the company says is the UK's most advanced dedicated Orad virtual studio.
K view, Business TV services, including interactive business TV as well as traditional Business TV. Kingston inmedia offers a full 'glass-to-glass' service, including facilities for content creation and digital distribution
K cast, provides distribution services for direct to home services, point-to-point and for private networks. The K cast service can also include playout from Kingston inmedia's state-of-the art TV centre, located close to London in Gerrards Cross. K cast has access to over 40 satellite up-link dishes at the Kingston inmedia owned teleports at Gerrards Cross and at Bedford.
K consult, the services of K consult include studio commissioning, studio installation, network design & commissioning and network installation. K consult is seen by Kingston inmedia as completing its range of services to broadcasters and media companies.
Kamera aquires competitor
European Internet TV Company Kamera is to acquire Hotvision, its biggest competitor in Sweden.
Kamera's media operation aims to provide solutions for media companies seeking to create revenue out of their content assets in the Internet arena. One example is the British docu-soap Cruel Summer, where the Internet platform is based entirely on a solution from Kamera.
Kamera is to be divided into two companies. One company will focus on media solutions (Kamera), and one will concentrate on the corporate communications sector (Kamera Communications). The purpose is to streamline the organisation and increase the companyØs focus on its core products.
As the division of Kamera takes place, Magnus Zaar will become the MD of Kamera and Lotta Lindquist will become the MD of Kamera Communications. Both have previously held positions at Kamera; Magnus Zaar as Senior Director of Content, in Kamera Holding and Lotta Lindquist as Head of Corporate Sales in Kamera France. Dan Willstrand will remain CEO of the group and MD of Kamera Holding AB.
AOL provides BYOA
AOL Hong Kong, a unit of US media giant AOL Time, is planning to provide service on a 'bring your own access' arrangement in Hong Kong after its licencing pact with a local partner ended as of July 1.
With the 'BYOA' system customers can access AOL services for a fee of $3.85 a month, but must do so via their own Internet service provider, AOL said.
David Packman, AOL Executive Director, said that AOL customers who used AOL under the old ISP model must opt-in to participate under the new model. The company would not say how many subscribers it has in Hong Kong.
Pay-TV viewers also pay attention
A BSkyB-backed survey 'Programme Receptiveness In the Multichannel Environment' (PRIME), conducted by BMRB, says that viewers in cable and satellite homes are more attentive TV watchers with an increased tendency to sit through commercial breaks.
Multi-channel's wider range of content meant digital viewers were more likely to seek out relevant programmes, making them 40 per cent less likely than terrestrial-only viewers to watch something because 'there is nothing better on.'
Television-watching habits of over 2100 viewers were examined in February this year. Viewers were given diaries to record their levels of interest, enjoyment and how much attention they paid to programmes and commercials. Measuring peaktime viewing habits the PRIME survey concluded that multi-channel viewers were more attentive, more appreciative of what they were watching and therefore more likely to sit through commercial breaks.
High-speed only for streaming Elton
Internet portal MSN.co.uk will streaming live coverage of Elton John's concert in Turkey on 17 July, but Internet users without high-speed connections will be excluded from watching the event. Elton fans will need a minimum modem speed of 100Kbps to view the broadcast.
In order to subscribe to the event, Internet users with a 100Kbps connection speed will be charged £7, and those with a faster 300Kbps modem will pay the higher price of £10. "Until now, there has never been a network in place that could handle the quality and reliability of a global event on the Web, that people would be prepared to pay for," said Frampton.
King shows China fight PPV
World Boxing Association heavyweight champion John Ruiz's fight against Evander Holyfield in the first heavyweight title bout in China will be broadcast by KingVision Pay Per View Ltd.
KingVision plans to pursue pay per view broadcast opportunities in the US for the bout on August 4, which is August 5 in Beijing, King said.
Hasim Rahman, the World Boxing Council and International Boxing Federation's heavyweight championship, was to fight Izon in Beijing, but a US judge ruled last month that he must face Lennox Lewis in his next fight and can't box anyone else for 18 months. Rahman will be part of the broadcast team in China.
Photo system on Liberate
QBeo Inc in the US is to adapt its iTV photo application to work on Liberate Technologies' TV Platform software. My Photo Gallery, QBeo's photo channel, lets users store, view, edit and share photos, and order prints and photo merchandise.
Granada/Last Minute in alliance
Granada Broadband and travel Web site Lastminute have formed an alliance that includes the launch of four new leisure Web sites.
The four Web sites, Liverpool FC, ITV-F1, ITV-Football and Arsenal FC, are expected for July and August allowing sports fans to get behind-the-scene access to major sporting events and last available tickets to selected games among others.
WEEKEND NEWS from FRI 6-MON 9 JULY 2001
Finnish DTT launch uses DVB-MHP
Italian merger for Telepiu-Stream
i-Cable box combats pirates
PCCW internet plans 'disappoint'
AT&T ups stake in Rogers Wireless
Advanced Micro Devices below expectations
Motorola retains agencies
Alcatel supplies NetCologne
Telia sells stake
Telecom Italia acquires TMC
Telewest to control Kidstime's stake
McDonald reappointed ABC Chairman
BBC selects Kingstone
Finnish DTT launch uses DVB-MHP
On August 27 Finland joins the exclusive club of countries with national DTT ccoverage. The launch has been agreed for years, and is reported to be extremely well organised, with all involved parties joining in on equal, friendly terms. Finland will also be the first country where the DVB-MHP standard will be used officially from day 1.
The private and commercial participants in the Finnish DTT project, publishing giants Alma Media and Sanoma, both with major interests in existing terrestrial services, MTV3 and Nelonen/ Channel 4 respectively, and Canal+ are still rather secretive about their DTT plans. Alma Media in which Sweden's Bonnier now has a major financial influence, and Sanoma have both been given a major influence from start on one each of the three multiplexes available.
The controller of the third multiplex, public service broadcaster YLE, is now taking one step forward and officially showing its hand with regard to its DTT offerings. The YLE plans are nothing sensational, it's rather what has been expected, but is now becoming reality.
Apart from creating digital versions of its two existing analogue channels, YLE 1 and 2, YLE plans to woo the digital audience with three newly created channels: YLE Teema (focusing on culture, science and learning), a 24 hour news servive, in line with BBC News 24 or Swedish SVT's ailing SVT24, and finally FST-D, a service entirely targeted at Finland's small, but politically and culturally influential Swedish-speaking population. Some new, attractive Swedish movies, which have not appeared on free-to-air Swedish television, have already been contracted by FST-D.
August 27 may be the official launch date, but in Finland it is now generally expected that the autumn will be a 'warming-up' period, with the commercial actors aiming at the influential Christmas market season for their major marketing campaigns, and then everyone going full blast ahead in early 2002.
It is also expected that set top boxes, fully DVB-MHP compatible, will not be available until later this year, and integrated digital TV sets are supposed to be available for the Christmas period from domestic manufacturers, including Nokia-controlled Salora.
Finland was one of the very first countries to be decisive about analogue switch-off and its decision to end analogue transmissions by the end of 2006 has still not been challenged.
Italian merger for Telepiu-Stream
News Corp CEO Rupert Murdoch and Vivendi Universal CEO Jean Marie Messier
have agreed to merge their Italian pay-tv businesses, Stream and Telepiu
respectively, in a bid to cut costs on the loss making operations.
The two investors hope that by combining the two services they will be
able to lower the programme acquisition costs and pass on lower prices
to consumer.
The merger will proceed in several stages: News Corp will buy a 50 per
cent stake in Stream and then sell a 25 per cent shareholding to Vivendi
Universal.
News Corp will then merge its 75 per cent shareholding in Stream with
telepiu and Vivendi's Stream shareholding. The combined company will be
75 per cent owned by Vivendi and 25 per cent owned by News Corp.
The joint company would be valued at E5 billion accroding to Vivendi advisors
Lehman Brothers - based on 5 million subscribers and nearly $1 billion
projected annual revenues.
Stream and tele+ have been lost hundreds of millions of dollars as the
two pay-TV groups pushed up prices, competing to buy content to attract
subscribers. Assuming the deal is agreed (due for finalising on Friday
6th July), the two groups then have to pass the regulatory hurdle, with
concern in Italy that a lack of Pay-TV competition would hit soccer revenues.
i-Cable box combats pirates
Hong Kong cable television and broadband Internet company i-Cable Communications is to spend nearly $60 million to develop a digital TV platform to combat piracy, which had led to a rise in churn rates as subscribers switch off after buying illegal boxes.
The new platform will mean that 200,000 of i-Cable's 520,000 subscribers will be issued smart cards - with the bulk of the cards issued in areas of Hong Kong identified as having higher than average incidences of piracy.
The company believes each box will cost it $100, but that the cost of the equipment is needed to offset the drop in subscriber numbers it has seen this year. Consumers will not have to pay for the set top boxes as i-Cable switches over to digital in the next three to five years.
It can cost as little as $26 to buy a decoder to get not only i-Cable's basic channel package, but also its premium tier services. The company has noticed a pattern of terminated subscriptions that has increased the churn rate from 1.3 in January to 1.6 per cent in June.
Another way of attacking the pirates is to convert i-Cable's microwave subscribers into digital ones, although the company says this would cost them a further $60 million. i-Cable also says that the smart cards it plans to issue could be used for its planned 2003 rollout of interactive TV services.
PCCW internet plans 'disappoint'
Investors have given a generally lukewarm reception to Pacific Century Cyberworks (PCCW)'s announcement of plans to rally its ailing Internet offerings.
While the price of the company increased on the Hong Kong stock exchange after the cmpany said it was laying off 340 staff, it fell again when analysts said that PCCW still did not have a credible long term strategy.
Morgan Stanley described the strategy as 'mildly disappointing' because it did not address how to stem losses. This is in spite of PCCW's undertaking not to spend more than $100 million on its Internet business over the next two years, with breakeven planned for 2003 on the basis of a bank of 500,000 broadband subscribers.
Other investors said that PCCW has failed to explain who the partners and content providers are going to be for the Netvigator and are unlikely to do so before the end of July as negotiations continue.
PCCW will scale back the scope of operations for its Netvigator Internet service, and concentrate on the stagnant iTV interactive TV platform, and its Network of the World broadband offering.
AT&T ups stake in Rogers Wireless
AT&T Wireless Group has bought BT PLC's 15 per cent stake in Rogers Wireless for US$380 million. The move brings AT&T's ownership level to 33 per cent, the highest it can go under current Canadian foreign ownership regulations which are 33 per cent of a holding company level and 20 per cent of an operating company. The move is seen as a mark of optimism that foreign ownership levels will be raised or removed, allowing AT&T to buy out Rogers Wireless. In June the National Broadband Task Force recommended raising foreign ownership levels as a means of attracting additional capital to telecom markets.
Advanced Micro Devices below expectations
Advanced Micro Devices said its second-quarter revenue and profit will be sharply below expectations, due to low selling prices and weak flash-memory sales. In addition, storage-device maker EMC warned that second-quarter results will be weaker than expected, due to a drastic slowdown in information-technology spending world-wide.
Motorola retains agencies
Motorola has called off the review of its $150 million global media account, citing the soft economy. The media account will remain with lead agency Universal McCann in Los Angeles and Mindshare Latin America, Franklin said. Contenders had included the incumbents and Initiative Media in Los Angeles.
Motorola announced plans to consolidate its media business in December.
The financially troubled communications company last July consolidated creative duties with Ogilvy & Mather in New York.
Alcatel supplies NetCologne's DSL
Alcatel has signed an agreement with German city carrier NetCologne to supply digital subscriber line (DSL) equipment for broadband access and voice over DSL (VoDSL) services. In the core of the network, NetCologne will install nine Alcatel 7670 Routing Switch Platforms (RSP) to aggregate DSL traffic over asynchronous transfer mode (ATM). The agreement also includes customer premise equipment from Alcatel's SpeedTouch range of DSL modems.
NetCologne will use Alcatel's fully integrated voice over DSL gateway on Alcatel's 7300 Advanced Services Access Multiplexer (ASAM), a broadband access platform, to offer additional voice lines over the same copper telephone wire used by subscribers for Internet access.
NetCologne will control the entire network via the Alcatel 5620 Network Manager. The carrier plans to deliver fast Internet and multiple voice lines to subscribers by August 2001 and plans to use AlcatelØs DSL technology to deliver further services in due course.
Telia sells Eniro stake
Swedish telco Telia has sold half its stake (40 million shares) in telephone directory subsidiary Eniro, to institutional investors. The group now maintains a 25.5 per cent stake, against the 49 per cent it had earlier.
Telecom
Italia acquires TMC
Telecom Italia's acquisition of Italian free-to-air broadcaster TeleMonteCarlo
has finally received the OK by the communications authority, which had
twice previously rejected the $360 million purchase.
Telecom Italia's purchase of a 75 per cent stake, through its Internet
arm Seat
Pagine Gialle was judged to contradict a 1997 law preventing holders of
a public service concessions from buying a TV business.
The Supreme Court overruled the authority in May, supporting TI's argument
that it was no longer a monopoly but a concession holder in a liberalised
market. SPG has since re-launched the channel as La Sette, adding MTV
Italia operations, to attract youth market share from Mediaset and RAI.
Meanwhile, TI's withdrawal from the pay-TV market, which awaits regulatory
approval, was further highlighted after reaching a financial agreement
with News Corp to finance their loss-making joint platform until the end
of the year, to the value of ITL399 billion (206 million).
Telewest to control Kidstime's stake
Communications group Telewest has acquired a controlling stake in children's interactive producer and distributor Kidstime.
Kidstime, which was set up last July has secured the rights to a number of pre-school properties including Noddy, Mr Men, Casper, Watership Down and Wind in the Willows.
Telewest head of strategy and planning Remy Minute said, "By combining Telewest's cutting edge broadband technology and Kidstime's strong portfolio we are ensuring that we will be at the forefront of the interactive children's entertainment market."
McDonald reappointed ABC Chairman
Donald McDonald
has been reappointed as Chairman of ABC in the Australia for another five
years. Communications Minister Senator Richard Alston McDonald, Chairman
for the past five years, had already made a significant contribution to
public broadcasting in Australia.
But the appointment has been criticised by Australia's Labor Party. Opposition
communications spokesman Stephen Smith said a fresh start was needed by
appointing someone else.
The perception had grown that the Howard Government's financial and political
attacks against the ABC had occurred while McDonald was chairman.
BBC selects Kingston
Kingston inmedia, the satellite-centric broadband applications provider of Kingston Communications, has been chosen by the BBC to provide satellite distribution services for the new Wimbledon Interactive TV Channel on the Sky digital platform. The long-term contract includes backhaul and up-linking and is valued at over £1 million.
The recently launched channel allows over five million viewers on Sky digital to watch a mosaic of six Wimbledon courts simultaneously and then choose the match they want to watch. The technology developed for this project is also expected to be rolled out to other sports, with Horse Racing, Golf and Football fans among those expected to benefit in the near future.
The six video streams necessary for multi-court coverage of Wimbledon requires a transponder with a capacity of 34Mbps on the Astra 2B satellite, one of three Astra satellites at the 28.2 degrees East orbital position. The BBC feed live coverage from the Wimbledon Championships by fibre to Kingston inmedia's satellite earth station based in Gerrard's Cross that is then up-linked to the Societe des Europeene des Satellites Astra transponder. The BBC has also concluded a five-year deal for an additional 3rd transponder adding to those currently leased from SES on Astra 2A.